Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.
--Revelation 2:16-17
We live in an age of compromise. You see it in every level of government, industry, and unfortunately… you see it in the church as well.
But today… instead of focusing on the compromise you see in others… I want to ask you… are you a compromising Christian? Are you living a double standard? Are there areas in your life, be it in your marriage… your professional life… or your thought life… where you are compromising?
Maybe you’re thinking about cheating on your spouse. Perhaps you’ve turned a blind eye to something unethical at work. Or maybe you allow yourself the leeway to think lustful or hateful thoughts.
Whatever it is, let me assure you of this: God takes the sin of compromise seriously! Revelation 2:16 says it clearly, “Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.” Jesus is not only saying that He’ll deal with any church that compromises with sin… He’s saying it to any Christian too… including you and me!
Jesus wants you to stop compromising, admit your sin, and deal with it. He wants you to get right with Him.
And you know what’s great about repentance? When we repent… when we genuinely change our mind and attitude about our sin… Jesus says in Revelation 2:17, “To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna….” Jesus says to the one who repents, He will give a taste of heaven!
There is blessing and there is reward when you quit compromising. And it’s my prayer that you will ask God to help you see any area of your life where the world has crept in… and that you will turn from your sin to a life of freedom in Christ!
Jesus wants you to stop compromising, admit your sin, and deal with it. He wants you to get right with him!
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.”
Luke 20:37–38
By some counts, there are almost one thousand names and titles used for God in the Bible. Each of these descriptions tell us more about His nature and character. The expression Jesus used in Luke 20, calling Him “God...of the living” is a powerful one. There have been many deities worshiped by men throughout the years. But all of the worshipers of those false gods have perished. Only Christians have the assurance that because He is God not only of the past, but also of the present and future, we can look forward to eternal life.
God is the God of the living because He is also the God who conquered death. It was not enough for Jesus to die for us, but He also had to rise from the dead, proving His victory over the grave. It is the resurrection of Jesus that promises us eternal life. And without that resurrection, which ensures His promise that we too will be victorious over death, we have no basis for hope in either this life or the next. Paul wrote, “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (1 Corinthians 15:19).
I read about a young preacher who was facing his first funeral service. Trying to be sure he would say what he should, he began searching the Bible to find what Jesus said at funerals. What he found was not a message of comfort, but triumph. Three times Jesus came in contact with dead people—and He brought all three back to life! The future may be unknown, but it is nothing to fear.
Today’s Growth Principle:
The triumph of Jesus over the grave allows us the blessing of certainty about the future.
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